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Wal-Mart Stores Sam’s Club Class Action Lawsuit Complaint Filed Over Renewal Start Date of Expired 12 Month Annual Memberships

Wal-Mart Stores “Sam’s Club” Member Files Class Action Lawsuit Complaint Against Wal-Mart Over Renewals of Annual Memberships (Advantage, Advantage Plus, Business, Business Plus) to Sam’s Club Members Whose Memberships Had Expired.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“Wal-Mart Stores” or “Wal-mart” or “Defendant”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (styled Law Offices of J. John Oh, APC v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Case No. 8:10-cv-01271-CJC -FMO) alleging, among other things, that Wal-Mart Stores sells annual 12 month memberships to Californians at Wal-Mart’s “Sam’s Club” stores that are less than 12 month memberships, with respect to members whose memberships expired, due to Wal-Mart’s alleged backdating of the membership start date to the day immediately following the expiration of the old membership rather than the date on which members chose to renew their membership, according to a class action lawsuit news report.

The Wal-mart Stores Sam’s Club Membership Renewal class action lawsuit complaint is reportedly brought on behalf of a class of all California citizens and residents who purchased Sam’s Club’s annual memberships (Advantage, Advantage Plus, Business, Business Plus) after the expiration of their previous annual memberships (“Renewal 12-Month Membership) from August 19, 2006 through the present.

For more information on the Wal-mart Stores Sam’s Club Membership Renewal class action lawsuit, read the Wal-mart Stores Sam’s Club class action lawsuit complaint.

If You Have Thoughts On The Wal-mart Stores Sam’s Club Renewal Of Expired Memberships Class Action Lawsuit, Share Your Class Action Comments Below.

{ 14 comments… add one }
  • Thomas Hoffay April 8, 2011, 2:22 pm

    This is my request to opt-out, I do not wish to participate in this class action. I have been a member of Sam’s Club for many years, I renew on the date my membership comes due or before. A 12 month membership is just that, 12 months. If you don’t renew until a month after the date it was due, you then have 11 months until your membership fees are due again, it’s still 12 months from the original membership date. It’s not hard to understand.

    • N/A April 8, 2011, 2:35 pm

      Thomas, thank you for your comments. Please note that this is not the appropriate place to opt-out of a class action. For more information, you may want to consider contacting the class action attorneys who filed the lawsuit.

    • Susanne Bellner November 24, 2012, 3:51 pm

      What a DOOF, If I go out of the country and there is no Sams Club, and I’m gone for six months I don’t want to pay for a membership I will not use. What an idiot.

  • Yonkers Resident April 22, 2011, 12:28 pm

    I just went to Sam’s the other day and they are still in the practice of backdating membership renewals to your old expiration date! I’m so happy that Thomas Hoffay has so much free time that he can renew every year ON his expiration date, but some of us are busy professionals with bigger fish to fry and can’t always remember to renew on time. Should we be penalized for this? This practice is sheer criminal and should be stopped immediately!

  • Ann Mullen June 6, 2011, 8:00 pm

    June 6, 2011 Sams club is still practicing this backdating memberships. I ended up refunding membership and starting a new membership. The customer service rep did not have an answer for me on why they are still doing this.
    How far along is this lawsuit?

  • Niles Ohio Resident October 18, 2011, 5:45 am

    Sams now has it that they can terminate your card without any notification for any reason they want.

    My daughter renewed her card, three months after her anniversary date. When she called to complain about back dating her membership, they stated by policy they didn’t have to do anything about it, but said they would make the new anniversary date to when she renewed.

    The next trip to Sams, (a few weeks later) the cashier said her card was expired. (With her paid renewal in February 2011, even if they had still had her at her original anniversary date, the card should have been good till November 2011.) My daughter said there must be a mistake that the Manager in Niles Ohio said he had corrected it for her. A manager came over told her that there was an alert from the corporate office that her card was to be confiscated!
    So basically because she complained, they cancelled her card and banned her from the store!

  • Michael August 6, 2012, 2:22 pm

    Um, I don’t see a problem with their practice. By all rights, your membership should be canceled the day after it expires and if you want a new membership, you should have to go through the application and fee process all over again. This is what happens with car registration, car insurance, health insurance, etc., etc. Why should Sam’s be any different? This sounds more like a case of a lawyer sniffing money to be made and taking advantage of it – legal, but slimy.

  • Susanne Bellner November 24, 2012, 3:45 pm

    Well I just got a big whopping check for $2.19 from this lawsuit. I guess I was one of those that was ripped off. I can remember not renewing when I was in the store because I told the clerk that I only shop there once every month or two. So I guess when I went back a month or so later and renewed, they back dated my membership. All I can say is what can you expect from Wal-Mart?

  • ginger bloom November 25, 2012, 3:34 pm

    Do you have any information on Gringauz v. Walmart Stores, Inc.? Thank you.

  • Alan Lavallee November 26, 2012, 11:25 am

    I just got my whopping $1.92 and I’m seriously peeved that I wasn’t removed from the class action. All it did was make a bunch of greedy lawyers rich and cost Sam’s some of their petty cash. I’d really like to sue the lawyers but then I’d just make another shyster wealthy.

  • Florida Resident November 29, 2012, 10:10 am

    I received a check for 2.19 and I do not understand that amount.
    I remember when I renewed my membership and they backdated it to over 2 months from the actual date. At $45 per year membership fee at that time, my membership was shorted at least $7.50 worth, right?
    If I do not deposit this check what will come of that?

    Actually, I would have been even more pleased to get my 2+ months of membership returned to me as I enjoy my visits to Sam’s Club.
    I wonder if this class action means I am no longer welcome at Sam’s.

  • In Florida December 5, 2012, 11:32 pm

    I just received a check for $2.19. Wondering how much the lawyers made on this? They got a bigger cut than any of the victims and that is plain WRONG. Wal-mart are crooks, but the lawyers are bigger crooks.

  • Cindy Franklin June 1, 2013, 8:59 pm

    They still do this as of 2013. November 3 2011, I went to Sam’s to become a member. On August 28, 2012 they said my membership was due, which I knew was impossible, so I did not renew my membership until until November 11, 2012 (kept the receipts). Just received a new bill for my membership renewal for August 28th date. I went into Sam’s with both receipts this time and asked why this was happening. It was because they went back to August 28, 1998 the last time I was a member of Sam’s club. I had them correct this and credit me the extra months back for the few months they had charge me. I wanted to know how they could go back 15 years to my last member ship.

  • Chris October 15, 2014, 11:26 am

    Well they just did it to me ….it’s 2014, is anyone suing them in Florida? I have the proof and a 35 minute call to customer service.

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